Weekly Re-Scheduling February 23/24

Field closures this past weekend have further delayed the Lower Island playdowns in the Provincial/Coastal B Cup. For the second week in a row no games, league or cup, were played. All B Cup matches that could not be played this past weekend have been re-scheduled by LISA for this coming weekend, February 23/24. In addition games in two other cup competitions – LISA Cup and District Cup – take place this weekend.

The attached master re-scheduling notice for February 23/24 is three-pages long and lists all the games (cup and league) that are to be played this weekend in all divisions, U14-U18, for both boys and girls.

This coming weekend the Vancouver Island qualifiers (Lower Island vs. Upper Island) for the Provincial B Cup tournaments were supposed to take place. Field closures, though, have prevented the Lower Island from determining their B Cup reps so the Island qualifiers for the provincials have been postponed until March 9/10. The Lower Island finals in all divisions, except Boys U18, are scheduled for this weekend. In Boys U18 the Prospect Lake/Peninsula Ablitt vs. Sooke Stratton semi-final will take place on Sunday, February 24, with the winner advancing to the Lower Island final against Juan de Fuca Allen the following Sunday, March 3.

As for the LISA Cup, all their finals are scheduled to be played this weekend on the artificial grass field at PISE in Saanich (Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence, 4371 Interurban Road, on the Camosun College Interurban campus). The LISA Cup finals were originally scheduled for February 9/10 but bad weather forced their postponement to this coming weekend, February 23/24. The same schedule (Saturday/Sunday game day and start time) is in place. All those finals are included in the attached master re-scheduling notice.

Playdowns in the Lower Island District Cup begin this Saturday, February 23, in two age groups – Boys U14 Silver and Girls U14 Silver. However only one opening round match is needed in both draws. That means in Boys U14 Silver and Girls U14 Silver two teams will be playing a District Cup match, two teams will be playing in the LISA Cup finals and all the other teams will be playing a league game. See the attached master re-scheduling notice for details. See further below for additional District Cup information.

At this time of the season the LISA office sends out re-scheduling notices on a weekly basis. While every attempt is made to have these notices ready for the Monday of each week, if there are delays, sometimes they can not be distributed until the Tuesday and, on odd occasions, not until the Wednesday. In order to do the re-scheduling, results from games played the previous weekend, especially the cup matches, need to be known. Also if games were not played that too needs to be known.

So it is important that you report to your LISA score recorder on time. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BOTH TEAMS TO REPORT ALL THEIR GAMES (league and cup) TO THEIR SCORE RECORDER. If you did not play your scheduled game then both teams still must report to their score recorder and you need to include why you did not play.

When submitting your report include the gender, age division, level of play (e.g. Gold, Silver) and the name of both teams. If you played a cup match (LISA Cup, District Cup or B Cup) please identify it as such. Make sure you have clearly indicated which team won – or, if a league game, if it was a draw.

For District Cup and B Cup matches decided in extra time include the tied score at the end of regulation time in addition to the final score.

For cup matches decided by a penalty shootout (PSO) include the tied score at the end of regulation time, the tied score after extra time (a.e.t.) and your penalty shootout score. Do not add the goals scored in the penalty shootout to the tied score after extra time. And please clearly indicate which team won.

When LISA re-schedules one of your games for the upcoming weekend you play that game instead of the game listed on your original schedule. The game that was originally scheduled for that day then becomes an outstanding game.

Make sure you check the League Play section of the LISA website to confirm all the games you have played have been posted. Please note that games are identified by the date for which they are listed on your original schedule. So if you are checking for scores for outstanding games or for “games played in advance” they will be posted alongside their original date not the date on which they were actually played.

In order to make up any outstanding league game “on your own time” (i.e. outside of the standard weekend time for which LISA schedules) both teams must agree upon the re-scheduling. One team can not schedule the game and try to force the other team into playing it then. Teams can only play a game in advance of the date for which it was originally scheduled if LISA has included that game in the weekly re-scheduling or if both teams apply for and receive LISA approval.

Teams can not make up any outstanding game once the deadline for league play has arrived.

If you have made arrangements to make up an outstanding game then both teams need to inform LISA (through your score recorder or the district scheduler) as far in advance as possible. By doing so hopefully we will be able to avoid the double-booking of games such as when two teams agree to play an outstanding game, for example, on a Wednesday evening and then receive their weekly re-scheduling notice listing that game to be played that Saturday or Sunday.

At this time of the season communication between teams, their opponents and their clubs is very important. Do not assume everybody will receive the re-scheduling notice that is emailed out every week. Teams should contact their opposition far enough in advance to confirm their games for each weekend.

LOWER ISLAND DISTRICT CUP

The District Cup is the final competitive program of the Lower Island season. It is not a league playoff. It is a single-elimination, random draw, cup competition for Lower Island teams that are not Lower Island representatives in an inter-district competition (e.g. B Cup, Island Invitational Cup). The winner of the District Cup does not advance to any other competition.

For the Lower Island District Cup all Silver league champions are promoted to a higher level of play. Silver league champions compete in the Gold District Cups as those teams have, over the course of the season, proven themselves to be the best team in their league.

The Gold league champion is not eligible for the District Cup. The Gold league champion represents the Lower Island in the Island Invitational Cup and will play against the Upper Island rep for the Island championship (April 6/7 in the Lower Island).

The start date for the District Cup playdowns depends upon the number of teams in each draw. If there are more than eight teams entered in a draw they will start their playdowns this weekend, February 23/24. Draws with five to eight teams entered will start with the quarter-final round March 2/3. The semi-finals (and draws with three or four teams) will take place March 9/10.

All District Cup finals will be hosted by the Sooke Soccer Association the weekend of April 6/7.

When teams lose in the District Cup playdowns they are eliminated from the competition and LISA stops scheduling for them. In other words, their 2018/19 Lower Island season is over.

Once their District Cup play begins a team can no long make up any outstanding league games – no matter how many outstanding games that team might have.

There must be a winner in all District Cup matches.

During the playdowns leading up to the final (i.e. “the round of 16,” the quarter-finals and semi-finals), if the score is tied at the end of regulation there will be extra time. Extra time is not sudden death. The full amount of extra time must be played no matter how many goals are scored. Extra time for those divisions that play the full 90-minute game (i.e. U17 and U18) is 2 x 15-minute halves. All other divisions (i.e. U14-U16) play 2 x 10-minute halves.

If the score is still tied after the full extra time is played the winner of the match will be determined by a FIFA penalty shootout.

Please make sure your referees are aware that games tied at the end of regulation will go to extra time and if still tied to a FIFA penalty shootout. The rules for the LISA Cup playdowns were different.

BOTH TEAMS must report their District Cup score to their score recorder.

Youth-to-youth permits can not be used for the District Cup competition.

For more information see Chapter 1 on the Rules and Regulations page on the LISA website.

Here are the start dates for each District Cup:

BOYS U14 GOLD – March 2

*BOYS U14 Silver– Saturday February 23

BOYS U15 GOLD – March 2

BOYS U15 Silver – March 2

BOYS U16 GOLD – March 9

BOYS U16 Silver – March 2

BOYS U18/17 GOLD – March 3 (or March 10 if only four teams)

BOYS U18/17 Silver – March 3

GIRLS U14 GOLD – March 2

*GIRLS U14 Silver– Saturday February 23

GIRLS U15 GOLD – March 10 (or April 6/7 if only two teams)

GIRLS U15 Silver – April 6/7 (only two teams)

GIRLS U16 GOLD – March 2 (or March 9 if only four teams)

GIRLS U16 Silver – March 2

GIRLS U18/17 GOLD – March 3

GIRLS U18/17 Silver – March 3

*Complete draws for Boys U14 Silver and Girls U14 Silver have not yet been done. Only the two teams needed for the opening round have been drawn. The full draws for Boys U14 Silver and Girls U14 Silver will be conducted when the draws are done for all the District Cups that start on the March 2/3 weekend. Those draw grids will then be posted on the LISA website’s District Cup page.

Typically at this stage of the season a list of league champions is published, unfortunately this run of bad weather at a critical time of the season has forced LISA to focus on many important and urgent matters. As a result of all the games that could not be played these past few weeks the determining of league titles, even with the application of LISA’s rules, is likely to take some time and some will be rather complicated.